While it may seem like a show of affection, this offering lowers the chances of the male spider ending up as the female's dinner, the study says.

And it can't be just any teeny weeny gift.

In some cases, the bigger the gift, the longer the spiders' mating time, the study shows.

Stingy male spiders end up dead

In a study of more than 280 spider pairs, researchers discovered that females that ended up with stingy, no-gift males were six times more cannibalistic than females staged with generous, gift-carrying males.

"The presence or absence of a gift was the most important factor in determining whether females cannibalized the males," the study says.

Fifteen male spiders that tried to court without gifts were eaten even before they could mate, according to the study.

"The results showed that pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism was enhanced when males courted without a gift," the journal Biology Letters said.

The risk of sexual cannibalism for the nursery web spiders that didn't give gifts declined when mating occurred while the female was feeding, according to the study.

Giving the female food doesn't eliminate all risks of getting eaten.

In the study, one male spider that came bearing gifts was eaten after mating.